Under certain temperature and pressure conditions, the equilibrium in equation (1) yields the data given in the table. Assume that these data occur at the equilibrium conditions.
(1) What is the order of substance B in the rate law?
The only reactants for this equation are A and B. When the concentration of A is held constant and the concentration of B increases by a factor of 2, the rate increases by a factor of 4. Since the reaction rate increases by a factor that is the square of the factor of increase of the reactant, the reaction must be second order in B.
